Policy director reports budget health, onboarding work, capital projects and legislation updates

Darren Gage, Linn County director of policy and administration, presented the Board of Supervisors' budget and policy updates on April 8, reporting that the Board's general management budget is in good shape through nine months of fiscal 2025 and that salary and benefits are under budget largely because of unused travel and annual software lease timing.

Gage said the Board's key-performance indicator for policy creation is on track (the office budgeted for five policy items and has completed six so far). He reported work in progress on a revision to the county's general assistance ordinance—an update that adjusts eligibility thresholds for utility, food and rent assistance—and on a procedure for requests for competitive quotations now that the competitive-quotation threshold has risen to about $206,000.

On capital projects, Gage said a pre-construction meeting was scheduled for April 8 at 2:00 p.m. for life-safety improvements at the Winter Weather Shelter, where the county will install sprinklers, upgrade an elevator and add shower and restroom facilities so both floors can be used for sheltering. He reported that work on the Secondary Roads headquarters site is advancing: earthwork is about 60% complete; footings and foundations are in progress; structural steel is expected to go up soon. Gage noted the Larson Construction general-contract award for the headquarters is about $15.7 million and a separate contract of roughly $1.2 million extends municipal water to the site.

Gage also outlined plans for courthouse renovation work to begin this fall and winter; early steps include replacing aging HVAC systems and preparing space for a new courtroom. He said a stage-1 report on juvenile detention and services has been delivered and a recidivism study is due later this summer.

On emergency medical services and financing, Gage said the county is researching what uses are allowable under various levies and that county staff are meeting with cities and ambulance services about potential levy proposals. He said staff continue to gather information on whether a county levy could be structured to support local ambulance and EMS needs without unintended negative impacts on existing services.

Gage provided a legislative update: a hands-free driving law prohibiting use of electronic devices while driving was signed and becomes effective July 1; Senate File 507 (restrictions on DEI programs) had passed the Senate and cleared the House Local Government Committee; other measures tracked include bills about lobbyist use of tax dollars, required EMA funding levels and changes to open-meetings fines.

Quotes in this article are from Darren Gage and Board members during the update.